Over/Under Questions: 40 Trivia Questions to Bet Over or Under
Over/under questions turn any trivia night into a betting game. The host reads a question and a line, for example "How heavy is a polar bear? Over or under 500 kilograms?", and everyone bets over or under. Nobody needs to know the exact number, you only need a feeling for it. Below are 40 over/under trivia questions with a line and the correct answer, in four rounds: animals and nature, film and games, body and science, world records. Every question also works as a normal guessing question: drop the line and let everyone guess the exact number, closest guess wins.
Play over/under questions as a quizHow to Play Over/Under
One person is the host. The host reads the question and the line. Everyone else bets over or under, either by thumbs up and thumbs down, by moving to one side of the room, or by writing it down. Reveal the answer. Everyone who bet correctly gets a point, or, in the elimination version, everyone who bet wrong is out. Two variants for bigger groups: let one player set the line themselves and the group bets against them, or play higher or lower with two questions in a row. Ties are impossible, because the line is never exactly the answer.
Round 1: Animals and Nature
Weights, speeds and ages from the animal kingdom. The lines are set where most people get it wrong.
How many kilograms can a fully grown polar bear weigh?Over or under 500 kilograms?
Answer: 700
A fully grown polar bear can weigh up to 700 kilograms. That is as much as a small car. Males are much heavier than females. Under its white fur, the polar bear has a thick layer of fat. This keeps it warm in icy cold water.
See the question in the quiz →How many meters long can a blue whale grow?Over or under 25 meters?
Answer: 30
A blue whale can grow up to 30 meters long. That is longer than three city buses in a row. It is the largest animal that ever lived on Earth, bigger than any dinosaur. Its heart alone is the size of a small car.
See the question in the quiz →How many kilometers per hour can a cheetah run?Over or under 100 km/h?
Answer: 120
A cheetah reaches up to 120 kilometers per hour. That makes it the fastest land animal in the world. In just three seconds, it is as fast as a sports car. Yet it can only keep up the sprint for a short time. After that, it must rest in the shade for a long while.
See the question in the quiz →How many hours can a snail sleep in one go?Over or under 24 hours?
Answer: Up to 72
A snail can sleep up to 72 hours in one go. In dry times it can even sleep for up to three years. It pulls into its shell and seals the entrance. This way it survives long periods without water or food.
See the question in the quiz →How many days can a cockroach live without its head?Over or under 7 days?
Answer: Up to 9
A cockroach can live up to nine days without its head. It breathes through small holes on the body, not the mouth. Only when it runs out of water does it die. The nervous system keeps working without a brain.
See the question in the quiz →How many liters of water can an elephant drink in a day?Over or under 100 liters?
Answer: 200
On a hot day, an elephant can drink up to 200 liters of water. That fills a whole bathtub. It sucks up the water with its trunk and squirts it into its mouth. It also uses the trunk to shower itself and cool down.
See the question in the quiz →How many eggs can a duck lay in one year?Over or under 200 eggs?
Answer: 300
A duck can lay up to 300 eggs in one year. That is almost an egg a day. Chickens lay about the same number. Duck eggs are usually a bit bigger and taste richer. Wild ducks lay far fewer, because they only breed once a year.
See the question in the quiz →How old is the oldest living individual tree in the world?Over or under 4,000 years?
Answer: Over 4,850 years
In the mountains of California stands a pine tree called Methuselah that is over 4,850 years old. It was already alive when the Egyptian pyramids were being built. The tree grows very slowly and looks gnarled. Its exact location is kept secret so that no one can harm it.
See the question in the quiz →How many lightning bolts strike the Earth worldwide per second?Over or under 50 per second?
Answer: About 100 lightning strikes per second
Thunderstorms are happening on Earth all the time, even if we cannot see them. Every single second, about 100 lightning bolts strike somewhere on the planet. That adds up to more than 8 million strikes in a single day. Most of them hit the sea or empty deserts.
See the question in the quiz →How long does it take for a plastic bottle to fully break down in nature?Over or under 200 years?
Answer: About 450 years
A PET plastic bottle needs about 450 years in nature before it has fully broken down. Even then it does not really disappear but just turns into tiny microplastic. These little pieces end up in oceans and soils. That is why it is so important to avoid plastic and to recycle.
See the question in the quiz →Round 2: Film, TV and Games
Episodes, cards, days and dollars. Pop culture numbers that everyone thinks they know.
How many episodes does SpongeBob SquarePants have?Over or under 250 episodes?
Answer: Over 300
SpongeBob has over 300 episodes across more than 14 seasons. The show has aired on Nickelodeon since 1999. Creator Stephen Hillenburg was a marine biologist before becoming an animator. That is why the characters live in real ocean areas. Bikini Bottom sits under the real Bikini Atoll in the Pacific.
See the question in the quiz →How many days did the longest Monopoly game of all time last?Over or under 30 days?
Answer: 70
The longest Monopoly game lasted 70 days in a row. That is more than two months. A normal game takes one to two hours. The players took turns so the game could keep going.
See the question in the quiz →How many spaces are on a Monopoly board?Over or under 36 spaces?
Answer: 40
A Monopoly board has 40 spaces. They include streets, railroads, the jail and the Go space. The game has existed since 1935. It has been sold in more than 100 countries.
See the question in the quiz →How many cards are in a classic Uno deck?Over or under 100 cards?
Answer: 108
A classic Uno deck has 108 cards. It includes number cards in four colours and special action cards. The game was invented in 1971 by a barber in the USA. Today it is played in almost every country in the world.
See the question in the quiz →How many Pokémon were there in the very first generation?Over or under 150?
Answer: 151
The first generation had exactly 151 Pokémon, from Bulbasaur to Mew. The first games came out in Japan in 1996. It grew into one of the most successful game series in the world. Today there are well over 1,000 different Pokémon.
See the question in the quiz →How many copies of Minecraft have been sold?Over or under 250 million?
Answer: Over 300 million
Minecraft has sold over 300 million copies. That makes it the best selling video game in the world. The simple blocky graphics are intentional, not a mistake. Developer Markus Persson built the game alone in 2009. Microsoft bought Minecraft in 2014 for 2.5 billion dollars.
See the question in the quiz →How long was the longest stand-up comedy show in the world?Over or under 24 hours?
Answer: 40 hours and 8 minutes
The record for the longest stand-up set is 40 hours and 8 minutes. Canadian comedian Dan Nainan set it in 2022. He took only short breaks each hour. The Guinness Book of Records confirmed the feat. Near the end he even forgot his own name.
See the question in the quiz →How many years did the filming of the movie Boyhood take?Over or under 10 years?
Answer: 12 years
Boyhood was filmed over 12 years, from 2002 to 2013. The team met for a few days of shooting every year. This means you watch the actors truly age in the film. The lead actor grows from a child into an adult.
See the question in the quiz →How many cents did a cinema ticket cost in the USA around 1950?Over or under 75 cents?
Answer: About 50 cents
Around 1950 a cinema ticket in the USA cost only about 50 cents. Going to the movies was a very cheap treat for the whole family. Many people went every week. Today a ticket often costs twenty times as much or more.
See the question in the quiz →How many people watched the 1969 Moon landing live on television?Over or under 500 million?
Answer: About 600 million
About 600 million people watched the Moon landing live on television. That was roughly one in six people on Earth at the time. Many families gathered around the TV in the middle of the night. It was the biggest broadcast of its era.
See the question in the quiz →Round 3: Body and Science
The human body and the universe deliver the best over/under questions, because intuition fails here.
About how many taste buds does an adult human have on the tongue?Over or under 5,000?
Answer: 10,000
An adult human has about 10,000 tiny taste buds. They sit on the tongue and also on the roof of the mouth. Each bud lives only a few weeks and then gets replaced. That is why we still taste sweet and sour well even when older.
See the question in the quiz →Roughly how many neurons does the human brain have?Over or under 100 billion?
Answer: 86 billion
The human brain holds about 86 billion nerve cells. Each one can talk to thousands of others. Together they make thinking, dreaming and feeling possible. The whole brain weighs only around one and a half kilograms.
See the question in the quiz →How many kilometers of blood vessels does an adult have in total?Over or under 50,000 kilometers?
Answer: 100,000
All the blood vessels of an adult add up to roughly 100,000 kilometers. That is enough to wrap around Earth two and a half times. Most of them are tiny thin capillaries. Through them blood reaches every cell in the body.
See the question in the quiz →At most, how many legs can a millipede have?Over or under 1,000 legs?
Answer: 1,306
The real record millipede actually has 1,306 legs. The species is called Eumillipes persephone and was only found in 2020 in Australia. It lives deep in the ground and looks very pale. So despite the name almost no millipede has exactly a thousand legs, except nearly this one.
See the question in the quiz →What percentage of its DNA does a human share with a banana?Over or under 50 percent?
Answer: About 60 percent
A human and a banana share about 60 percent of their DNA. That sounds crazy, but it comes from very old, shared cell building blocks. Almost all life on Earth uses the same basic parts. Still, a human is of course very different from a banana.
See the question in the quiz →How many degrees Celsius hot is the surface of the Sun?Over or under 5,000 degrees?
Answer: About 5,500 degrees
The surface of the Sun is about 5,500 degrees Celsius. Inside the Sun it reaches around 15 million degrees. For comparison, iron melts at about 1,500 degrees. No material from Earth could get close to the Sun without vaporising.
See the question in the quiz →What percentage of the air is oxygen?Over or under 25 percent?
Answer: About 21 percent
Only about 21 percent of the air is oxygen. The largest part, around 78 percent, is nitrogen. Small amounts of other gases like argon and carbon dioxide make up the rest. With much less oxygen we would quickly struggle to breathe.
See the question in the quiz →At how many kilometres of altitude does space officially begin?Over or under 80 kilometers?
Answer: 100 kilometres
Space officially begins at an altitude of 100 kilometres. This boundary is called the Kármán line. For comparison, passenger planes fly only about 10 kilometres high. On a vertical motorway a car could reach space in about an hour.
See the question in the quiz →About how many millimetres do fingernails grow per month?Over or under 5 millimeters?
Answer: About 3 millimetres
Fingernails grow about 3 millimetres per month. Toenails are much slower and manage only about 1 millimetre. Nails grow slightly faster in summer than in winter. A completely new fingernail takes about half a year.
See the question in the quiz →What percentage of a cucumber is water?Over or under 90 percent?
Answer: About 96 percent
A cucumber is about 96 percent water. That makes it one of the most water-rich foods of all. Watermelons and tomatoes are also mostly water. That is why they are so refreshing in summer.
See the question in the quiz →Round 4: World and Records
Buildings, records and one question about Antarctica that catches almost everyone.
How many meters tall is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai?Over or under 800 meters?
Answer: 828
The Burj Khalifa stands a proud 828 meters tall, making it the world's tallest building. For comparison, the Eiffel Tower only reaches about 330 meters. On a clear day the view from the top reaches the Persian Gulf. From the ground it almost looks unreal.
See the question in the quiz →How many steps does the Eiffel Tower have up to the top?Over or under 1,500 steps?
Answer: 1,665
The Eiffel Tower has 1,665 steps all the way to the top. Regular visitors can only climb as far as the second floor, which is 674 steps. After that you have to take the elevator. Anyone who does it all has seriously strong legs.
See the question in the quiz →How many people live permanently in Antarctica?Over or under 1 person?
Answer: 0
Not a single person lives in Antarctica permanently. There are only research stations where scientists stay for a few months. In summer there are a few thousand people, in winter only about 1,000. Antarctica belongs to no country and is protected by a treaty.
See the question in the quiz →How many inhabitants per square kilometre does Mongolia have?Over or under 5 people per square kilometer?
Answer: About 2
Mongolia has only about 2 people per square kilometre. That makes it the most sparsely populated country in the world. Germany, by comparison, has more than 230 people per square kilometre. Almost half of all Mongolians live in the capital Ulaanbaatar.
See the question in the quiz →What percentage of all people live in the Northern Hemisphere?Over or under 75 percent?
Answer: About 90 percent
About 90 percent of humanity lives in the Northern Hemisphere. There is simply much more land there than in the south. Almost all of Asia, Europe and North America lie north of the equator. The Southern Hemisphere is mostly ocean.
See the question in the quiz →How long is the longest water slide in the world?Over or under 2,000 meters?
Answer: about 2,723 meters
The longest water slide in the world is 2,723 meters long and runs down a mountainside. It is in China and was confirmed in 2019 (Guinness World Records).
See the question in the quiz →How tall was the tallest cake in the world?Over or under 20 meters?
Answer: 33 meters
The tallest cake in the world was 33 meters high, taller than a ten story building. It stood in Jakarta in 2008 (Guinness World Records).
See the question in the quiz →How many balls were in the biggest ball pit in the world?Over or under 1 million balls?
Answer: 2.6 million balls
The biggest ball pit in the world held 2.6 million colorful balls on an area of about 1,635 square meters. The record comes from Abu Dhabi (Guinness World Records, 2024).
See the question in the quiz →How many million dollars did the most expensive painting ever sold cost?Over or under 300 million dollars?
Answer: About 450 million
The painting Salvator Mundi was auctioned in 2017 for about 450 million dollars. It is attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. No other artwork has ever fetched a higher price at auction. In the 1950s the same picture was once sold for less than 100 dollars.
See the question in the quiz →How many words does the longest novel in the world have?Over or under 1 million words?
Answer: About 1.3 million
The longest novel in the world is In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust. It has about 1.3 million words in seven volumes. A normal novel has only about 90,000 words. Reading an hour a day, it takes several months to finish.
See the question in the quiz →Printable Over/Under Sheet
Print all 40 over/under questions with the line and a column for each bet. The answer key is on a separate page for the host.
The printout lists question, line and a bet column per question, plus the answer key on the last page.
| No. | Question | Line | Your bet | Answer | Over/Under? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | How many kilograms can a fully grown polar bear weigh? | 500 kilograms | |||
| 2 | How many meters long can a blue whale grow? | 25 meters | |||
| 3 | How many kilometers per hour can a cheetah run? | 100 km/h | |||
| 4 | How many hours can a snail sleep in one go? | 24 hours | |||
| 5 | How many days can a cockroach live without its head? | 7 days | |||
| 6 | How many liters of water can an elephant drink in a day? | 100 liters | |||
| 7 | How many eggs can a duck lay in one year? | 200 eggs | |||
| 8 | How old is the oldest living individual tree in the world? | 4,000 years | |||
| 9 | How many lightning bolts strike the Earth worldwide per second? | 50 per second | |||
| 10 | How long does it take for a plastic bottle to fully break down in nature? | 200 years | |||
| 11 | How many episodes does SpongeBob SquarePants have? | 250 episodes | |||
| 12 | How many days did the longest Monopoly game of all time last? | 30 days | |||
| 13 | How many spaces are on a Monopoly board? | 36 spaces | |||
| 14 | How many cards are in a classic Uno deck? | 100 cards | |||
| 15 | How many Pokémon were there in the very first generation? | 150 | |||
| 16 | How many copies of Minecraft have been sold? | 250 million | |||
| 17 | How long was the longest stand-up comedy show in the world? | 24 hours | |||
| 18 | How many years did the filming of the movie Boyhood take? | 10 years | |||
| 19 | How many cents did a cinema ticket cost in the USA around 1950? | 75 cents | |||
| 20 | How many people watched the 1969 Moon landing live on television? | 500 million | |||
| 21 | About how many taste buds does an adult human have on the tongue? | 5,000 | |||
| 22 | Roughly how many neurons does the human brain have? | 100 billion | |||
| 23 | How many kilometers of blood vessels does an adult have in total? | 50,000 kilometers | |||
| 24 | At most, how many legs can a millipede have? | 1,000 legs | |||
| 25 | What percentage of its DNA does a human share with a banana? | 50 percent | |||
| 26 | How many degrees Celsius hot is the surface of the Sun? | 5,000 degrees | |||
| 27 | What percentage of the air is oxygen? | 25 percent | |||
| 28 | At how many kilometres of altitude does space officially begin? | 80 kilometers | |||
| 29 | About how many millimetres do fingernails grow per month? | 5 millimeters | |||
| 30 | What percentage of a cucumber is water? | 90 percent | |||
| 31 | How many meters tall is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai? | 800 meters | |||
| 32 | How many steps does the Eiffel Tower have up to the top? | 1,500 steps | |||
| 33 | How many people live permanently in Antarctica? | 1 person | |||
| 34 | How many inhabitants per square kilometre does Mongolia have? | 5 people per square kilometer | |||
| 35 | What percentage of all people live in the Northern Hemisphere? | 75 percent | |||
| 36 | How long is the longest water slide in the world? | 2,000 meters | |||
| 37 | How tall was the tallest cake in the world? | 20 meters | |||
| 38 | How many balls were in the biggest ball pit in the world? | 1 million balls | |||
| 39 | How many million dollars did the most expensive painting ever sold cost? | 300 million dollars | |||
| 40 | How many words does the longest novel in the world have? | 1 million words |
More Numerical Quiz Rounds
- Tie Breaker Questions: 50 nearest wins questions for the end of a quiz
- Funny Estimation Questions: where the answer itself is the punchline
Over/Under Questions: Frequently Asked Questions
What is an over/under question?
A trivia question with a numerical answer and a line. Players do not guess the number itself, they bet whether the real answer is over or under the line. It is the same idea as an over/under bet in sports, just with facts instead of scores.
How do you set a good over/under line?
Put the line where you expect half the group to be wrong. A line far away from the answer is boring, a line right next to it feels like a trick. The lines on this page are set at round numbers that most people get wrong at first.
Can you play over/under without a host?
Yes. Take turns: the player whose turn it is reads the question and line from their phone and cannot bet in that round. On QuizTimate you can also play all questions as a free quiz, where you guess the exact number instead.
Is the Over/Under board game the same thing?
Almost. The card game by Gamewright works the same way, with a line printed on each card. This page gives you 40 free questions in the same format, and you can print them or play them from your phone.
Can I use these over/under questions with kids?
Most of them, yes. The animal and record rounds work well from about age eight. For an easier set with simpler numbers, use our estimation questions for kids.
Out of lines? Play the 1,357 estimation questions with answers in the big collection, where everyone guesses the exact number instead. And if your group likes betting, the hard estimation questions make the best over/under rounds of all.
Play over/under questions as a quiz